A dilemma in subclinical hypothyroidism

Dr Audrey Russell, General Practice Clinical Academic Fellow, explains the background to an EU-funded multi-centre, randomised, controlled trial of the treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism in the over-65s (TRUST), which is being run out of the new Clinical Research Facility in Mercy University Hospital, Cork. Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a common finding in general practice. It is defined as an elevated serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with normal circulating thyroid hormone levels. The prevalence is around 8 per cent in adult women and 3 per cent in men, but the proportion of the population affected rises markedly with increasing age. Approximately 8-to-18…